Research and Planning - Video

Research and Planning:
I produced a film on Xtranormal which was very interesting. However, the actors voices sound very robotic and is hard to understand. But if you pay attention you can hear what they are saying. Here is a link to the film..
http://www.xtranormal.com/watch/13849926/research-and-planning-the-movie

Below is the written version of my research and planning


What research did you carry out into similar products and your potential target audience? In your answer you need to refer aspects of your case studies that were useful as research for your own production (similar products) and the feedback you received from the class when you pitched your treatment.

I looked at 3 case studies which really helped in evolving the current idea we had. From each case study I took one main aspect which I will deploy in our film. The ideas that I discovered in the case studies have been very influential as they will enhance my film. One idea which was very influential was the kind of shots we decided to use in our film, this notion I acquired from ‘Dear Dad’. For example, the scene when our protagonist is heading up the stairs we will use a low angle to convey the power he has. Then when he has read the letter and runs down the stairs we will utilize a high angle shot to convey his powerlessness over what he just read. Another key aspect which derived from my case study was using symbols and editing to show motifs in our film. This idea was taken from my case study ‘Twenty Pounds’. Another piece of research we carried was pitching our idea to the class and receiving feedback. This was extremely helpful as we were told what kind of location we can use. And as most of the class are the same age as our audience, the feedback given by them has been key in making our film to appeal to our audience as we will add aspects into our film which they have told us. One student suggested that we portray the antagonist always feeling weary and looking pale to reinforce the fact that she is an ill condition.  Another student suggested that when we are editing our film we should utilize a fade effect on Final Cut Pro to display the transition between the flashback and real time.  The sound of this excited both me and my partner and also believed this was a great idea which we could utilize. We took all the ideas given to us on board and decided to add it into our film. All in all the feedback that we gathered from researching has been very effective in piecing together our film.

How well did you organise your actors, locations, costumes and props? Consider how helpful your release forms, recces, risk assessments and production schedules were. Talk about the role of team meetings.

At first we had a panic finding our actors as the two people that we wanted to use could not come on the day we decided to film. Therefore we had to find other people to act for us. We searched high and low and finally my partner found two people who were free on the day we are shooting and also were willing to star in our film. So overall I believe we did organise our actors well. The talent release form was gave us a better communication with our actors as we provided them with our mobile phone numbers and also gave us another surety they will be our actors. The location we decided to use was a house and the outside of a hospital. From the class feedback we got another location we can use; the park. So in the end we decided to use Pamela’s house, my partner, Whipps Cross Hospital and Whipps Cross Park. The reason we decided to use these locations was due to the proximity of each location. Filling out the location release form was helpful in preventing restrictions on the day of the filming. Getting permission from each location gave us a surety that we were not bending any rules. They were all in a close range to each other. This would give us more time to film as we wouldn’t waste time in moving from each location. Producing the recce was very helpful as when we visited the locations we got ideas of where we could film each scene in that location. Filling out the risk assessment form prevented us from any accidents that could take place on the day of the shoot, so this was very helpful for the safety of the crew and actors. The production schedules were extremely helpful as this helped us in our time management and due to this we could completed all our tasks on time.

Evaluate your storyboards and scripts. In your answer you need to explain how you divided tasks within the group, identify any problems you had, suggest how you could have improved. 

I believe that me and my partner distributed the tasks between ourselves very efficiently. We decided that my partner will carry out the storyboard and I will aid her after I had completed writing the script and the recce. After my partner had finished the drawing side of the storyboard I helped her in considering what kinds of shots we can use to highlight a motif and shots to portray feelings. The storyboard that we both completed is very unambiguous and it clearly states what camera shot, dialogue and setting we utilise in each scene. On the whole we did not have any problems in tackling the storyboard as we accomplished it on time and also had no difficulty in completing it. The script on the other hand was a slightly harder task. As we wanted to make some emotional scenes due to the storyline we had to have a script which was well written and emotive. The first time I attempted it I was very bewildered as I had no clue on how to write an emotive script. To tackle this issue I went onto google and viewed other scripts which were similar to the one I was trying to achieve. These scripts were very helpful and also had an influence on my writing as I now had an idea what to write and how to write it.  In general, the script was a concern at first but then this problem was tackled with ease and was then accomplished by me on time. To be sincere I don’t think we could improve our storyboard or script in any way as me and my partner completed each task to the best of our ability. However, if we received some feedback from our class, I’m sure they would discover an aspect we could improve.

Evaluate your own, and your groups time management.

I believe that I managed my time very well as I had completed all the allocated tasks on time. The group’s time management was also managed well as my partner finished all her tasks on time. I also had the time to improve my work due the efficient time management.

How well have you presented your research and planning?

Presenting this task has been challenging. I had been recommended by my teacher to use a creative technology to present the research and planning on. The creative technology I decided to utilise was called ‘Xtranormal.’ This software had been unknown to me and at first I felt alienated by it as I did not have a clue how to use it. I went through the tutorials and this assisted me in getting to grips with the software. Once I had the basics and played around with some of the tools I started on producing my ‘Xtranormal’ film. This software had aided me in presenting my film in an unorthodox way and made this task much more interesting. Generally, I do believe that I have presented my research and planning well due to the platform in which I conveyed it in and also due to the creative technology I used;  these aspects made this task much more interesting to undertake and also easier to convey.